Walking the triangle

Walking the triangle

So I am sure to walk the triangle. The in June ‚in a vision I discovered a new pilgrims way‘ from Dat to Dehbrink to Pang and back to Dat. About 140 to 160 km (later I discovered, it’s 181km).  I still do not know what to do with the vision I had, such a big one, how to put it down to reality. So my conclusion.  I just walk that ’new pilgrims way‘ to maybe find out more.

All the rest of the fruits and vegetables are in my backpack. Also some cooked potatoes from Rangdol, and 3kg of raisins. I don’t eat sugar, so this is beside of some honey my source of ’sugar‘, fruit sugar. Because of not being 100 % sure, that I come back here, I had to carry all. The plan is, to continue walk after the ‚triangle‘ to other parts Morey Plains and to Zanskar.
One day Skarma wanted to repair my backpack. He went to his special tailor, which had stiched a image of Moray Plains and the name itself on it. Wow.

I don’t go the direct way, because I want to see a side valley of the area. Puh, but the backpack is so heavy. I managed only to make one extra pass of nearly 5000m. The second I just could not manage the same day, and there is a third pass, the YarLa Pass with again 4.950m. To take the YarLa pass its good to take as a hiker the short cut. The way is kind of marked by a wall of stones half to one meter high. I thought this is a not ready ‚mani-wall‘, but later Rangdol explains to me,  that the locals use this constuction to cross the pass on it in winter. Who could think of that. Anyway my fantasy goes for having workshops around this constuction to make new ‚om mani padni hum‘-stones.

Again my vision from June repeats and on the hiking trail and shortcut from Lungmoche to Yagang it felt again somehow holy and so special. The ‚highpoint‘ is a little mani wall where the way turns to the east around a hill. It looks not special at all, but it is with a special power. ….

Now, when I walk I also miss meditating more… what can I do…. I try to meditate in the morning, but it’s so supercold to get up…. mostly it freezes at night…. and with my thin sleeping bag…. Anyway in the evening meditation works now in the tent better. After a lots of days trying, what clothes and material I have, to cover me from cold I found a funny solution to use the sleeping bag. At the lower end the sleeping bag becomes smaller, just for the feet to fit in. The sipper is not going down all the way, so I can’t open the sleeping bag and use it as a blanket. But I can use the end of the sleeping bag as a hat and even later on I found that I can push it totally over my head, opening the sipper a little bit for my nose…. hihihi…. and the rest is covering my back…. with all kind of other clothes I cover my legs and hands…. so it’s best for meditation. It must have looked to funny…. But who cares….

After 3 days, at early afternoon I reach Dehbrink at the highway. My little encounters with humans on this hike. Here I am appointed with Skarma again. He will bring me a warmer sleeping bag….. they arrive from 140km Leh at around 5pm. Skarma brings Sumit, Tanvi and Soham with him, what a surprise. Sumit suggest that I should keep both sleeping bags and both mats. And they really tried to convince me to come back to Leh… it’s just to cold this year…. But, no… I really want to stay in the mountains. They also brought some watermelon and carrots…. vitamins, nice!!!
After, it was just a short while, I felt, I had so much more to report…. they left…. later I heard they met after TanglangLa Pass three snow leopards…. wow, that’s such a rare occasion. … they stopped the car and the snow leopards did not leave, so they watched each other for at least 5 minutes, then they decided to leave the scenery. ….

The next two days I walked somehow close to the Leh/Manali highway towards Pang. So beautiful. …. In Pang I meet Dolma, a nice Lady who owns a Nomad-tent-Dhaba. I know her from earlier and the cooks everything what I want and gives me all the proviant for the next 4-5 days, mainly cooked potatoes and boiled eggs….. ready to make it back to Dat.

I walk along a special mountain. The sharp stones rubb on of my sandal doles nearly away. The mountain has peaks looking out, which shine golden in the afternoon light. It seems as if the peaks peaked of there black layers to show there golden insides. The weather is so good and I am so happy to be here. Later I put my tent at one side of the special mountain on 5000m, close to a frozen waterfall, overlooking a huge area, where I can see down in one valley eleven shepards with there goat and sheep herds.

Next day I crossed again in best weather the pass to still devastating Sangtha with there beautiful stupas. Surprisingly the river is dry….. uppps…. let’s use the pump…. But pump is broken…. and water bottles empty….. uppps…. what to do. Thinking of alternatives I find another pump…. oh, it’s working.

In the triangle I want to walk a inner triangle to join the ‚holy path‘ again but also walk a way I haven’t done before – between Yagang and Sangtha (but this will not happen). After walking the ‚holy path‘ I build up my tent at some other protecter of villages. It must have been already the 13th of tibetian calendar, because very fresh flags are hung up. This protecter looks a bit dark to me. The entrance of the tent looks towards sunrise, so the sun can warm me up in the morning. I have the feeling, it’s maybe getting a bit warmer again. Maybe the first night without frost since 2 weeks. Today is equinox, the 21st of September.

The next morning I wait for the sun coming over the mountain to warm the tent up…. but. …. after a while I open the tent and I see clouds, not single clouds, not dark clouds, just a closed cloud formation but in a weared way…. I don’t understand the message of this cloud/s but I somehow hear a kind a Tush, as if a orchestra is making a loud ‚tatah‘ sound to announce something….. what does it mean?
I relax a bit again – with the two sleeping bags it’s so cosy in the tent and for meditation I have the warmer sleeping bag as a hat and blanket, the other one to cover all the rest…. So good!!!
After a while it starts to snow rain…. aha…. ok…. I wait…. later I decide to have a rest day …. a shepard comes along, looks if everything is ok…. aha, you are walking to Dat, great, that way…. 40km. …. yes ok, tomorrow. … yes ok!! He leaves again…..